1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to a handle knob. More specifically, the present invention relates to a handle knob that is rotatively mounted to a knob shaft fixed to a tip of a handle arm of a fishing reel.
2. Background Information
A handle assembly is fixed to a tip of a handle shaft of a fishing reel, such as a spinning reel or a dual bearing reel. The handle assembly has a handle arm, a knob shaft and a handle knob. The handle knob is rotatively mounted to the handle shaft. The handle arm is non-rotatably mounted to the tip of the handle shaft. The knob shaft is fixed to the tip of the handle arm. The handle knob has an outer shape that can be grasped with a palm of a hand. The outer shape of the handle knob allows the handle knob to be firmly gripped during jigging. Thus, it will be easy to contribute a large amount of force. In addition, the handle knob must be firmly gripped when hooking a fish. Furthermore, the handle knob must be grasped with fingertips of a hand and rapidly rotated when reeling in fishing line. With the outer shape of the handle shaft having a substantially spherical shape, one can smoothly and continuously move from hooking to reeling without changing the grip on the handle knob during operation.
The handle knob with an outer shape that is substantially spherical on an outermost radial position on a side closest to the handle arm is known to give one a feeling that the handle knob fits well in a grasp. Accordingly, the outer shape of the handle knob is substantially conical on the outermost radial position opposite the side closest to the handle arm. (See, for example, Japanese Patent Publication No. 2003-284463.) This type of handle knob can obtain the fit feeling by placing one's fingertips on the substantially spherical portion and placing the base of one's fingers on the substantially conical portion.
With this type of handle assembly, it is known to provide a cavity in the interior of the handle knob, and to provide a hollow structure, in order to reduce the weight of the entire reel. (See, for example, Japanese Patent Publication No. 2004-236541.) This type of handle knob is made of a metal such as brass or the like. The handle knob has a tubular portion, a substantially hemispherical first knob and a substantially hemispherical second knob. The tubular portion is mounted on an outer peripheral surface of the handle shaft. The first knob is unitarily formed on the outer periphery of the tubular portion. The second knob is detachably mounted on the first knob in a position on the opposite side of the handle arm of the first knob. The second knob is a member having the same qualities as that of the first knob. The second knob is made of metal such as brass or the like. Here, by mounting a screw member inserted from the outer peripheral portion of the second knob into a boss that is unitarily formed so as to have a large diameter on the outer periphery of the tip of the tubular portion, the second knob can be detachably mounted on the first knob.
Because the former conventional handle knob is formed so that the outer shape thereof is substantially spherical on the outermost radial position on the handle arm side, and so that the outer shape thereof is substantially conical on the outermost radial position opposite the handle arm side, a fit feeling can be obtained when grasping and operating the handle knob.
However, when firmly grasping the entire handle knob with one's palm, a gap may be produced between the palm and the end portion of the handle knob. This is because the end portion is formed in a flat shape such that the outer shape of the knob handle opposite the handle arm (the side on which the palm is placed) is substantially conical. Thus, when a gap is produced between the palm and the end of the handle knob, the ability of the handle knob to be grasped is reduced and the handle knob cannot be firmly grasped.
In addition, because the outermost radial position of the handle knob is arranged so that the junction positions of the substantially spherical portion and the substantially conical portion are the same, the outermost radial portion is arranged in a position that is comparatively separated from the palm. Here, the ability to grasp the handle knob may be further reduced because, when the handle knob is grasped, the trunk portion of the fingers is placed on the outermost radial position.
The boss of the latter conventional handle knob that serves to mount the screw member is unitarily formed so as to have a larger diameter on the outer periphery of the tip of the tubular portion. However, because the tubular portion is unitarily formed with substantially hemispherical first knob, when for example the tubular portion and the first knob are formed by die casting, a mold with complex shapes must be employed to form a large diameter boss on the tip of the tubular member, and thus forming the boss is extremely difficult. Accordingly, forming the boss by means of post-processing such as machining or the like has been considered, but this processing is labor intensive and most likely increases manufacturing costs.
In addtion, because the latter conventional first knob and the second knob of the aforementioned conventional handle knob are formed by means of members made of a metal such as brass or the like, the external appearance is made more attractive, and the feeling when the first knob and the second knob are grasped is improved. In order to further reduce the weight of this type of handle knob, forming at least one of the first knob and the second knob from a comparatively lightweight material such as a synthetic resin or the like has been considered. However, when both the first knob and the second knob are formed from a synthetic resin, the attractiveness of the external appearance is possible lowered than when compared to the first knob and the second knob being made of brass. In addition, when one of the first knob and the second knob is formed from a synthetic resin, and the other of the first knob and second knob is formed from brass, the first knob which is in contact with the fingertips and the second knob which is in contact with the palm will feel different when the handle knob is grasped. Thus the fisherman most likely feels a sense of incongruity.
In view of the above, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art from this disclosure that there exists a need for an improved handle knob that has characteristics that allow a better grip. This invention addresses this need in the art as well as other needs, which will become apparent to those skilled in the art from this disclosure.